With all this talk and concern about petrol going off after a certain period of time and made worse by the addition of ethanol, I was wondering: How fresh is the fuel we buy at the station specially the premium 97+ which has a lower sale? DO they add ethanol at the point of delivery (like the additives) in the delivery tank?
As part of my job, I oversee a petrol station. The fuel we get in will have been stored at one of the storage points and we receive it through Manchester refinery. All the additives are added at the plant, ethanol being one of them. In terms of the age of the fuel, this is an unknown. Ethanol itself causes what is known as phase separation in fuel. When fuel containing even small amounts of Ethanol comes in contact with water, either liquid or in the form of humidity; the Ethanol will pick-up and absorb some or all of that water. When it reaches a saturation point the Ethanol and water will Phase Separate, actually coming out of solution and forming two or three distinct layers in the tank. My other job involves a boat yard with engineering facilities. One of the biggest causes for an engine not running, is the fact that phase separation has caused the fuel to split into water and also fuel. The pick up in the fuel tank invariably picks up the water, which is not a good thing for an engine obviously. Fuel does go off if not stored correctly. In work we sell a huge quantity of fuel stabiliser liquid which maintains octane ratings in the fuel when stored. Again, we see a huge number of engines (with carburettors in particular) that will not start. This is because the fuel has been left untreated in the tank, lines and carb and over a relatively short period of time, has gone off to form a varnish sort of coating, blocking up jets. It doesn't affect injected engines so badly, but the fuel will not be as efficient in burnng. So, the long and short of it is, if you are going to buy fuel and not use it within a couple of weeks, add a fuel stabiliser as soon as you purchase the fuel. Also, there is a difference between supermarket fuels and branded fuels. The reason a super market fuel is cheap, is down to the fact that they don't have the additives in. It is cheap for a reason. Oh and one more thing, never consider running a petrol station, there is NO money in it whatsoever nowadays. None. Nothing.
Hi great to see some one knows about the fuel we stick in our bikes .I always add a stabilizer to my tank when I'm putting her away for the winter .never have a problem when she comes back out
You can get alkylate fuel which won't go off, i use it in petrol cookers and lamps and in my generator, but a litre or two into an empty tank in the bike over winter will see it start fine the following year, it's not cheap mind. http://www.aspenfuel.co.uk/products...spen-alkylate-petrol/aspen-4-alkylate-petrol/
hi robin this is very interesting info specially from someone who has been in the inside. I didn't know additives were added at the plant as opposed in the tanker at the time filling station. I used sta-bil when my car and bikes were stored for 3 years (longest stretch of 18 months) but unfortunately, it is no longer readily available in the uk. as a matter interest, which product did you use at the boat yard? I have also heard from a station owners that it is tough business and they have to sell other things like groceries etc..to generate some income.
This is the stuff we use and sell ourselves: https://www.quicksilver-products.com/en/products/marine/outboard/fuel-systems/additives/ We service about 300 boats a year and put the stabiliser in every one without a problem. I also use it in my race fuel for the bike and in the generators and it does the job nicely. As for running a petrol station, we sell the fuel as a convenience and service to the community, relying on all the other bits (food, drinks, coal, logs, xmas trees etc.) to make things balance. If you make 3p a litre profit on fuel, you are doing well...........and then you have to pay the wages, the rates etc., etc..
We can supply it to you or failing that, if you just do a google search for it, you will come up with plenty of people selling it.
